Birds are not picky eaters. They can feed on a number of things: seeds, grains, fruit, breadcrumbs, worms, and more.
Bird control is a hard job, especially if you have a vegetable garden. You'd want to keep birds as far away as possible. Even though it's not easy, there are a few things you can do.
- Make a scarecrow or use decoy hawks and owls. Also, fake snakes could scare some of the birds.
- Use old CDs as shiny reflective objects to scare the birds. Hang a few of them every couple of meters around your garden.
- Buy or make bird nettings from cord or wire to protect your crops.
- Plants to distract them. You want to keep your crops intact and you've lost all hope of keeping the birds away? You can distract them by planting other seductive plants away from your vegetables. Plants like buckwheat, sunflowers, or some berries can be used to attract pigeons and other birds to the opposite side of your garden.
If you have problems with pigeons infesting your roof, attic or other, please visit the article: How to Keep Pigeons Away From Your House
Pigeons are a typical example of a bully bird that doesn't allow smaller birds to get food. They are larger than most birds you can find in urban areas and this gives them some advantage in the race to get the food people leave behind.
You can keep pigeons and other bully birds away from your bird feeders by making it hard for them to reach it. How? By enclosing the bird feeder with hardware cloth with openings big enough so only smaller birds can get through and feed (5cm should be more than enough).
There are caged-in trays or tube bird feeders sold in garden or hardware stores you can purchase. The tray or tube is placed several centimetres inside of the cage and it makes it difficult for larger bully birds to eat the seeds.
Some bird species, like pigeons, the European starling, house sparrows, feed on the ground. If you remove all food sources from the ground and make a hanging bird feeder under a small shelter, they may get scared to get under the cover. With the lack of food, they will soon stop coming.
Poisoning pigeons and other birds is not recommended. There's no need to kill the birds. You can simply take some measures to keep them away from your home or business building. A dead pigeon, filled with poison, laying somewhere in your garden might cause you more problems than a live one. Plus, you should consider the chance of poisoning other animals alongside the pigeons. Refrain from using poison as a bird control method, please.
Sounds can prove to be one of the most effective ways to keep birds away. You will need to invest some money to do it the right way but it will be worth it. There are a number of sounds that can do the trick.
Audible repellers produce frightening bird sounds that scare pigeons and other birds. There are different sounds - distressed cries of birds, shrieks of predator birds. The devices can be bought in most gardening stores.
Ultrasonic repellers emit high-frequency sounds that people cannot hear. The sounds are at a specific frequency targeted at birds.
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Gather aluminium plates, mirrors, and other shiny objects. Hang them on your trees and they'll create movements and reflect the sunlight. Thus they will scare off the pigeons and other birds from roosting on your trees.
Put a predator bird statue on the tree to scare the pigeons off. Most professional exterminators rely on this method as well.
Wind chimes can also scare pigeons away with the sound and movement they make, but if the pigeons get used to them they will not hesitate to roost on your trees.
You have to be careful with the homemade repellents. Birds, especially pigeons are smart animals and can see through your scarecrows and tricks.
Homemade pigeon repellents and other repelling methods should be combined with preventive methods for full effect and protection.
Other natural ways to deal with bird control
Remove food and water sources. Keeping your property clean from seeds, grains and other food remains is a convenient way to have birds and pigeons skip your home and go to your neighbour's' yard. This can be done by regularly sweeping floors, keeping your garbage in the garbage can with a closed lid on it.
Gardens should be protected as well, either with decoy predator birds statues, sprinklers, sound repellents, or nets.
Make sure you don't leave standing water anywhere around your home.
Removing the nest is essential because you are putting your home at risk of getting infested with bird mites.
Homemade Pigeon Repellents
As mentioned above, there are a number of bird repellents that can get the job done. But if you wish to deal with the issue without having to put a fake owl or spikes on your roof, you can try to make some homemade repellents.
1) Repel pigeons with honey - Applying a thin layer of honey to your roof or balcony will inconvenience birds and they won't roost there. Honey's stickiness will keep them away as birds do not like sticky surfaces. You can use other sticky products as well. You may have to reapply the sticky substance from time to time because it will wear off.
2) Hose the birds. You can instal automatic sprinkles on your roof or balcony to spray them when they land. Or you can do the work when you notice them. Hosing them a couple of times should be enough to teach them a lesson and keep them away.
3) Spicy pigeon repellent
Pigeons and other birds do not like spices. Which makes it a fantastic natural repellent for all kinds of birds.
4) Pepper powder can be used to repel pigeons from your balcony and roof. Sprinkle more of it on their roosting places and in other places they may roost. You can use black pepper, cayenne pepper or cinnamon powder to keep the pigeons off your property. You will have to reapply it after rainy or windy days.
5) Chilli powder is another spicy repellent that you can use. Throw chilli solution in the birds' roosting places and watch how they stop coming back. Reapplying it may be also necessary after windy and rainy days. The chilli is also unpleasant to the pigeons and will drive them away from your home.
Take measures to keep birds away from your home now or call an expert to do it for you.
Need help! They are busy taking over my garden killing smaller birds and destroy my paving and plants
Pigeons are not a common predator to other birds. Maybe, insects now and then…
However, pigeons are notorious in destroying gardens and pavement, so try the tips mentioned in the article 🙂 If they don’t work call us to check for a booking slot. A professional approach might be what it takes to get you rid of this pest.
For two years I had bird feeders and some wild bird food in a small area in front garden. Now the colorful birds have been displaced by a flock of about twenty + pigeons. I want my birds back. Sonar devices, will they affect other fauna?
So sad to hear that… Pigeons are an awful bunch when you think about it.
I was in a similar situation before. I have never tried Sonar devices, in my case a couple of fake Hawks and the removal of the food source done the job. It takes a lot of patience. Pigeons kept showing around when they got used to the decoys. I had to move them around, and add something new to scare them off. After a couple of weeks, they finally stopped visiting and I returned the bird feeders back in place.
Think of it as a battle, you have to be patient, but also as stubborn as they are to win.
We have a pair of pigeons who are making a nest on our large bay tree by the house, how can we get rid of them